Remembrance
by fFfF826
Summary: Defiance was their game: they lived a life of dangerous love yet could not live through this. The last day of Remus and Nymphadora Lupin's lives and the legacy they leave behind.


**Remembrance: Legacy**

_A/N: I do not own Harry Potter. It belongs to J.K. Rowling._

Her eyes shone like stars, her face creased with happiness. Hanging nonchalantly off her hip was a gurgling baby, a picture of maternity at its best.

She bent down and placed the baby on the floor, with such dexterity that was unlike her. He giggled and snorted as she saw his mother's hair turn purple, then orange, then red.

It was her turn to giggle when his hair turned her favourite shade of pink.

"Look Remus! Teddy's decided to copy his mummy!" she cooed in the voice of a proud mother. "Grab the camera, will you?"

"Only if I can find it in this pigsty you've created," Remus poked good-naturedly.

"Hey!" she retorted, but never got to finish. Snot and all manner of mucus were streaming down Teddy's face and Tonks wiped it off with her shirt. The baby rolled over and lay on its back, contented for now.

"Oh, little Teddy, I didn't know that you had enough room to store all those unseemly liquids you let out!" she said, with such an earnest expression that it looked like she was attempting to stop the production of said fluids.

She let out a tired sigh and she looked around absent-mindedly. Remus was leaning against the doorframe, camera in hand.

A genuine smile graced his washed-out features and a joyous glow illuminated his usual pallor complexion as he raised the camera to eye level. He walked closer to the baby, and carefully, to avoid disemboweling any toys, or more importantly, to avoid disemboweling Teddy.

Remus was careful not to use the flash, as the last time he used it, the baby refused to forgive him for the fright for a full hour.

"Teddy!"

Teddy almost cricked his neck to instinctively turn towards the direction of the voice. The shutter closed and an amusing moment was captured on film as Tonks poked her head into the frame beside pink-haired Teddy, poking out her tongue, and with her garish trademark pink hair.

Deviously, she poked Teddy while he was still enamored with the contraption in Remus's hand. The baby tumbled over and onto his stomach, writhing rather uncomfortably.

Teddy looked in Tonks's direction and contorted his face in half-hearted rage. A split-second later, his hair was turquoise.

"Mummy's upset Teddy and now his getting his revenge by turning his hair blue!" Remus proclaimed joyfully.

Remus laughed heartily as Teddy attempted to rip out his new turquoise hair and at the same time waved rather too vigorously towards the camera. Tonks warily approached Teddy, as if unsure of whether he would strike out at her.

He did.

Remus almost choked in laughter and dropped the camera, but had enough self-control to press the button when he saw Teddy striking Tonks like an amateur pugilist. All the flailing fists were in good humour, though Tonks pretended to look mortally offended.

"Oh, Teddy really doesn't like you now! Let's see whether Teddy likes Daddy more."

Remus slipped his wand into his back pocket, briefly recalling the many repeated and vigilant and vulgar warnings of 'blown-off buttocks'.

But Moody was gone now.

Wiping his brow, he crawled closer to Teddy. Remus picked up Teddy as if he were a porcelain doll, waiting to be smashed into nothingness, and gently set him down in his lap. Remus stroked the small tufts of blue hair, holding him tight as though a tide was sweeping Teddy away.

But the silence would not last. A spontaneous outburst erupted from Teddy and his mother rushed to him, tearing her attention away from the Muggle paperback.

Wandering out of the room, he headed towards the kitchen and poured a cauldron of developing solution, lost in the visions of warm summer nights spent with Teddy, chuckling over a many embarrassing photos, and chuckling even more so when he was telling his son the anecdotes behind each photograph.

He pried the film out of its cubbyhole in the camera, and dumped it in. He summoned a glass and wine, concentrating on drowning away the thoughts of war and massacre and instead bringing to the surface feelings of family and affection. The alcohol was _definitely _not very Remus-like, and if possible, even more unchild-friendly.

A few minutes had passed with the sound of cries dying away and Remus surmised as much that Teddy was to be put in bed for his early evening nap. The alcohol was giving him a slightly numb, yet tingling and enjoyable feeling of baseless euphoria.

The timer for the film went off, and Tonks walked in, human and machine unexpectedly synchronized. The faint smile hanging on her lips was wiped off when she caught sight of the wine glass and the crimson liquid within.

"Remus, you really should not be drinking alcohol with Teddy in the house!"

He finished of the last gulp of wine slowly, savouring the bittersweet flavour of it.

"Don't worry yourself Dora, his asleep and well."

"But still –

"If it comes down to it, I am quite proficient at sobering charms, after an incident involving a late night, Slughorn and alcohol."

"Oh Remus, I really can't beat _your_ reasoning. But still, a baby is a baby and alcohol won't do it any good. I definitely don't want Teddy to grow up to think that his daddy is an alcoholic."

"And Teddy probably wouldn't want to grow up thinking that his mummy is a klutz, would he now? I _might_ just _accidentally_ slip some amusing tales of the umbrella stand of Grimmauld Place."

"You would not!" she said with such real despair in her voice that Remus could not help but laugh.

"I would so and you know it."

"I didn't marry for your stubbornness, I've got enough stubbornness for the both of us."

She looked out of the window, with the sun disappearing below the horizon of bleak hedges in need of horticultural Viagra. They cuddled closer to each other in the armchair, blissful in harmony. Out of the blue, a puff of red smoke engulfed them both.

"Remus, I hope you didn't buy any of that chicken salt from Fred. I thought Molly was going down the wrong track when she decided to use some in the chicken pie for Bill's wedding."

"There was no chicken pie at their wedding."

"That's the point."

"Well, you can be rest assured that I have not attempted a foray into the kitchen with any suspicious substances from a certain Mr. Weasley."

"Then what was it? A death eater's attack on our house?" Tonks said while attempting sarcasm but failing miserably.

"I'd rather think not," he replied with the disapproval of her inappropriate joke betrayed in his tone of voice.

Tonks clearly noticed this and tried to reconcile with a small peck on the cheek. Remus poked his head out to check that the living room was indeed empty and silent. He took out his wand and closed the door.

Seconds descended into minutes, and minutes into hours as the held each other tight. Tonks looked up at Remus, her hazel eyes shining with ardent hope.

"You do think this war will end one day won't it? So that little Teddy can grow up in peace?"

"I hope so," with not much belief.

"Remus Lupin, the constant cynic, aren't you?"

"I sure am."

Tonks laughed. She repositioned herself further into his lap, loosely tugging at the stray threads of blue and yellow on the faded floral armchair.

She stared him straight in the eye.

"Remus, I love you, you do know that?"

"I sure do."

"And yet it took a whole year of me wearing you down to snap you out of that bloody Nobility Complex of yours and to get you to marry me."

He shrugged her off his lap and her face spoke of her disappointment. He bowed down to her in mock deference.

"Forgive me, almighty Nymphdora Tonks."

She looked as though she had to be physically restrained to prevent her slapping him. Instead, she took a few deep breaths and stood up. She grabbed him by his collar and pushed him back down onto the armchair. Her mouth was temptingly close to his ear, and she muttered lowly, sharp as a laser.

"Do _not_ call me Nymphadora."

The stayed frozen together, Nymphadora with her legs apart and her nimble form cowering over Remus, her prisoner.

The wind gushed around the windows. A frantic pounding hammered far away, getting louder and more erratic. They could now hear the muffled cries.

"Remus –

"Death Eaters –

"Come –

"Door –

"Now –

Remus flung himself out of Tonks' tantalizingly warm embrace and headed straight for the coat stand. He grabbed the nearest cloak, and as an afterthought, pointed to the cauldron and summoned the recently developed strip of moving photographs and shoved it hastily into his pocket.

"Oh. So that was why there was smoke." Tonks replied with a feeling of anti-climax.

"Yes."

Tonks shot an apprehensive look. He instantly recognized the fire in her eyes, the old Auror determination.

"I'll deal with it. Please. Let me," he pleaded.

"Remember Remus. Just this once."

Her worried gaze trailed him as he ran, footsteps heavy, through the hallway to appease whoever was on the other side. She tried to hum a happy tune, but it was inevitably a failure as she fretted over Remus' safety. She could make out from the armchair muttered talking from a dark and heavily cloaked figure and nodding from Remus.

They finished the consultation and in almost no time at all Remus was by her side. His face was pale with disturbance, and his voice heavy with gravity.

"Dora," he said with relative composure, "there's been a threat to Hogwarts by the Death Eaters."

She stared and wrinkled her forehead.

"Really Remus, what you mean to say is that Lord Voldemort is about to take over one of the last safe wizarding strongholds and what you're implying in your _subtle_ body language is that I, a _fully-trained Auror_ can't go!"

Remus blanched a little and replied.

"Well, you summed it up nicely."

Her face seemed to turn even redder with anger than before.

"So, what's your reason this time for keeping me in?"

Remus sensed the incandescent anger and cautiously took a few steps forward. They were within a hair's breadth of each other.

"Dora. I'm sorry for this but I have got to go. I'd give my life for Teddy. He doesn't deserve to lose both his parents."

"I'd give my life for Teddy too and for _you_!" she yelled.

"Dora. Take Teddy. Go to Andromeda. Stay. Do not go to Hogwarts." Remus said this in such a direct manner that it would not be contradicted.

"Fine," she said with bitter venom edging the very edges of her mouth.

Her stare was like a million daggers through the heart.

The tension between them felt like static. Turning on her heel, she took a few steps away but came back immediately, striding to him.

It looked as though she wanted to hold her grudge against him longer, but she could not. She flung her arms around him, engulfed in the parting passion of one another.

Then she ran to Teddy's room, but not without giving Remus one last fleeting look.

Remus stood there for a while, transfixed upon the last spot where he had seen Dora. Shaking himself to his senses, he hurried through the corridor, and out of his home forever.

He didn't even stop to look at the flowerbed he planted one sunny weekend with Dora. He didn't look back to recall the verandah that they painted hot pink in honour of her flaming hair. He didn't look back and see the silhouette of his two loves fade and then disappear into the green flames.

Kingsley was pacing about the tree, and even with his calm demeanor obviously appreciating the rather low chances of victory.

"You'll apparate first Kingsley?"

"Yes."

With that Kingsley whirled in folds of black and vanished.

In half a minute, Remus had already ran up to the nearest hill and apparated from there. Compression overtook him and his head throbbed with concentration as he focused on the dingy chairs, dim lighting and the faint smell of goat droppings he remembered from years past.

His eyes widened and opened as he heard the uproarious scuffle of the hundreds and the mingled cries of fright in the face of dark. He threaded his way through the chaos and made it to an open doorway. Rushing through the path, he scarce could imagine the horror that awaited him inside. Through the oblivion he ran and sought solace in the face of a death eater he could blast into nothingness.

He crashed straight into a petite figure and into the unexpected and overwhelming smell of French perfume.

"Ree-mus!"

"Fleur! What a pleasure to see you!"

"And where eez _that_ determeened wife of yourz?"

Remus frowned a bit upon hearing such a biting voice used to describe _his_ Dora but he had to concede to the validity of that statement.

They both paused as they heard a determined stomp and the furious voice of Ginny.

"I won't!"

Her Weasley hair flew about her shoulders as she flailed about for freedom.

Remus turned around to Fleur.

"Does Bill have that furious Weasley temper?"

"I 'ave yet to see zat and I hope not to."

Remus sighed when he saw Ginny still trying to break free from her mother's grip.

"It seems all the women in my life are emotionally unstable."

Fleur chuckled appreciatively to that sentiment.

There was a sudden scuffling and a thump. All the heads in that room turned around and the Weasley's in particular were interested to see one of their own stumble in.

Percy's spectacles were lopsided and his robes uncharacteristically disheveled.

"Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I – I –"

Percy spluttered into silence. He looked around embarrassedly; realizing he had unexpectedly ran into most of his family. His eyes were praying for an end to the silence and hatred directed towards him.

Fleur seemed to take the cue and in an unconvincingly high voice asked,

"So – 'ow eez leetle Teddy?"

Remus turned his attention from Percy to Fluer and replied flustered,

"I – oh yes – he's fine!" he said a little louder than he intended.

The room was ice cold, and the silence was unnerving. Remus decided he would take another shot at returning the communal atmosphere of the room.

"Here, I've got a picture!" He shouted louder before.

He made a point of pulling the photo out from the depths of his pocket and pointing out the obvious form of Teddy pulling tufts of turquoise hair out of his fair scalp.

"I was a fool!"

So immense was the volume that Remus made nearly to drop the photo.

"I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, and I was a – a –"

"Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron."

Fred said it better than anyone else. It was obvious that spirit and humour had returned to the room, but not yet fully.

Percy swallowed to compose his tumult of feelings.

"Yes, I was!"

"Well, you can't say fairer than that," Fred replied genially with a hand out to renew their brotherhood.

Mrs Weasley however was more emotional and rushed out towards Percy and smothered him in a hug of maternal affection.

"I'm sorry, Dad."

Remus could barely contain a smile when the bitter irony was that war had brought this broken family back together.

"What made you see sense, Perce?" George asked.

"It's been coming on a while. But I had to find away out and it's not so easy at the Ministry, they're imprisoning traitors all the time. I managed to make contact with Aberforth and he tipped me off ten minutes ago that Hogwarts was going to make a fight of it, so here I am."

Remus wasn't surprised to hear that the Ministry disillusioned Percy early on in Voldemort's reign. It would have been the gut reaction of any reasonably sane person.

"Well, we do look to our prefects to take a lead at times such as these," said George in such a pompous tone that reminded one of Percy.

Percy strode to Fleur and put out his hand.

"So you're my sister-in-law now?"

"Ginny!"

Remus could see her sneaking towards the doorway, hoping to throw herself in the midst of the action.

_What is it with these women and their desire to get themselves in the most dangerous situation possible?_

Remus decided to play Devil's advocate and approached Molly.

"Molly, how about this," he said. "Why doesn't Ginny stay here, then at least she'll be on the scene and know what's going on, but she won't be in the middle of the fighting?"

Molly seemed to consider this as a compromise of her daughter's safety.

"I –

"That's a good idea," interjected Mr. Weasley. "Ginny, you stay in this Room, you hear me?"

Remus thought it would be a good time to leave, before he witnessed yet another tantrum.

Ascending the staircase, he rushed through the hallways, recognizing every portrait frame but it was if the veil of war had descended upon them. None of the occupants were to be seen.

The last of the students had been escorted out already and only those who were over-age remained. However, he did see Colin Creevey out of the corner of his eye, but he disregarded it completely in his haste.

By the time he was back down to the Great Hall, Kingsley was already going through tactics.

"Meanwhile Remus –

Kingsley indicated Remus and he saw the looks of recognition light up on the faces of the students. He would've thought they would be prejudiced against the kind, honest professor that they now knew was a savage beast every month. But their faces showed no disgust.

_Don't let the past haunt you now_.

Kingsley divvied up the troops and Remus saw he got a pretty good crop of troops. He recognized faces like Terry Boot and Ernie Macmillan who were in his third year, but they had much progressed in physicality in the four years he had not seen them.

"Hello Professor," said a particularly shy second-year girl he remembered but now had blossomed gracefully into womanhood.

"Hello! And by the way, it's just Remus now," he said, correcting her small technicality.

He cleared his throat.

"Troops." Remus said, the feeling of command in his voice returning after four years of idle. "Stick together with at least another person. Take Death Eaters down, but aim for non-mortal curses. I will walk around and try and shout loud when a group effort is needed. Understood?"

A rather dismal reply of yes followed and they tore right out of the hall on the first strike of twelve.

He ran straight into the grounds and into complete disorder. It seemed that the battle had already begun without them.

He took deep breaths, the primal adrenaline of war kicking in already.

_Relax Remus. Just remember to duck real hard when you see a flash of light_.

This was easier said then done with his aging reflexes. He could scarce duck fast enough and an amber curse came so close that it parted his hair a different way.

He shook his head to return it to its original parting and it was then he glimpsed a slightly deranged looking, pink-haired woman harassing all those who weren't dueling about something or another. The world faded around him and he only had eyes for her.

"Dora!" he shouted, glad to see her, upset that she was away from Teddy.

"Remus!"

They were barely a hundred metres apart, but it was as if the world was between them.

He stood there lost in every chocolate brown swirl in her eye, just like in the early days of their fateful attraction. He tried to memorize every feature of her face as she started to shout something that made absolutely no sense to him.

She took her arm out and pointed behind him, and only then, too late did he realize that she had been indicating a Death Eater coming up from the behind. He whipped around, defensive instinct kicking in and his wand at the ready.

But he never saw the one that killed him. He only had time to put his hand back into his pocket and to clutch on to the happy memories of his family irreparably broken.

His body fell to the ground with a rather hollow _thud_.

***

Oliver had already covered most of the grounds and retrieved the bodies that lay. He recognized some of the faces as friends, as classmates who had so much potential, but would never be able to show it ever again.

Their haunting faces were pale, their eyes glassy in the immense horror in death. Nothing could be done to save them now. Nothing could revive the casualties of war.

There was one body lying a couple of metres ahead. He tried to make out the identity of this obviously dead body, but to no avail. Every step he took, he found out more and more about the victim.

Brown cloak. Tall. Salt and pepper hair. Aging face. Professor Lupin.

It shot a pang of sadness in him, as he saw the peaceful and resigned face of his Professor staring at him in death. He hoisted him up with as much dignity as he could afford.

He saw the grounds, with some of its majesty and serenity taken away after so many soldiers were slain.

The loose dirt changed to stone and he lifted the body up the steps along with himself. He pulled the hand out of the pocket, which was still holding tight on two photographs. Making sure to keep the photos undamaged, Oliver placed Remus' hand on his chest. Laying him down gently, he muttered an epitaph that he knew would be on the lips of many.

"Goodbye Professor, teacher and friend to all."

***

He had woken up at the crack of dawn, for he knew that he had much packing to do.

Now it was approaching nine o'clock and he had put most of his possessions into his trunk already.

Anticipation was building, slowly but surely, for the arrival to the castle that excited him so much, yet saddened him too.

After all, the loss of his parents so young was no laughing matter.

He imagined himself in the castle, treading every step his parents took when they were young too. He would be taught in the same classrooms where his father taught. Every bench he sat on he would be irrevocably reminded of their premature deaths.

They were torn apart.

_Why does God hate me so much?_ _Why did they die and leave me alone?_

_Why is Fate so against me?_

He let those questions run through his mind as he mechanically folded his remaining robes and placed them in the trunk. He damned God every time he stacked a book onto the mounting pile inside the trunk.

Turning to the table, he reached to grab several quills and ink bottles. Instead, his hand brushed against a loose piece of parchment. On it was his godfather Harry's writing.

_Dear Teddy_, it read in his typical messy scrawl.

_I hope you will receive this letter in good time. _

_As your godfather, I hope to calm whatever fears you have about going to Hogwarts._

_You'll be fine. Just don't go chasing dragons or befriending three-headed dogs or putting yourself up for a duel when you don't know any spells._

Teddy let out a chuckle as the story of Harry's many adventures during his years at Hogwarts were folklore to his nearest friends and family.

_But to be serious for a while, Hogwarts was the very place where you lost both your parents._

_I lost my parents as well when I was very young. I only ever had scraps of memories of us together. I remember the times where they were happy and laughing in the midst of the Great War. _

_I was forced to watch their deaths as a (very) unfortunate side effect of the presence of Dementors. They stood proud and upright before their death. They embraced it. They died for me. _

_When I was your age too, I felt so neglected. Why did they die instead of living with me?_

_But now, having matured a great deal, I would gladly give my life for one I love._

_Teddy, always remember your parents paid the ultimate price in the hope that you would see peace in your life. They were courageous, brave and strong and as kind as anyone I have ever known._

_Their spirit lives on within you._

By this point tears already blotted the parchment.

_At the end of my first year, Hagrid gave me a photo album of my parents._

_It was undoubtedly the best gift I have ever received. _

_So, as your godfather I hope to pass on to you some photos of your family that will surely bring a smile or a laugh to your day._

_Love, Harry_

Teddy wiped away a few tears that were still clinging onto his face. Behind the piece of parchment was a black leather bound album.

On the cover there was a picture of a young and vivacious pink-haired woman with a white veil joyfully kissing an older brown-haired man.

His eyes were disconcertingly similar to the un-metamorphed Teddy.

With a loving tenderness Teddy flipped each page over.

Every page brought a new delightful memory to the surface.

_A gurgling baby. A crawling child being cheered along by a proud father. A kid being cuddled simultaneously by two beaming parents._

Teddy was disappointed as he reached the final page of photos.

A hand-written note written by Harry was at the top of the page.

_These were taken on the very day your parents died. Your father was found dead clutching these photos in his fist. _

Teddy treated these photos with even more reverence than the previous ones.

The top one was of his mother and him. Nothing special, but their hair was both pink.

The last photograph was a chubby baby throwing fistfuls of turquoise hair at the cameras.

Teddy closed the cover, locked it securely with a Muggle lock of his own and nestled it at the bottom of the trunk in between two wooly winter sweaters. He took the piece of parchment, folded it, and put it in his trouser pocket.

A knock punctuated his thoughts.

"Come in."

Teddy had no doubt that Harry was at his door and waiting to come in.

"Did you get my note?"

"Yes."

A tear slid down Teddy's nose. Harry could easily see the uncanny resemblance between Teddy and both his father and mother.

"Teddy. Forgive them."

"I do."

"Not only forgive them, but remember them not as dead, but as happy in eternity."

Harry gave a fatherly pat on the back to Teddy and left. He closed the door gently behind him.

Teddy closed his trunk.

Never would he forget them, Remus and Nymphadora Lupin.

_A/N: Text is taken from Deathly Hallows pg 486-488 and pg 491. Reviews are appreciated for this first attempt!_


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